10th District Assembly GOP Primary 2021: Gregory McGuckin

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — With Primary Day for the 2021 general election coming up June 8, Patch is sharing profiles of the candidates for local office.

Gregory McGuckin is one of four candidates seeking to be the Republican candidate for the two, four-year seats representing the 10th District in the Assembly on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. McGuckin is seeking the GOP nomination with John Catalano, under the banner of the Regular Republican Club of Ocean County. They are being challenged by Brian M. Quinn and Geraldine Ambrosio

Patch asked each candidate the same questions. Here are McGuckin's answers.

Your name: Gregory P. McGuckin

Age: 59

Town of residence: Toms River

Position sought: Assembly, 10th District

Party affiliation: Republican

Family: Wife Kate. Children, my daughter Kelsey and her husband, Chad Anthony, and their son Thomas; my daughter Emily and her husband Robert Mulligan and Amy and Drew.

Education: Providence College, Bachelor’s Degree in History; Seton Hall University Law School, Juris Doctor Degree

Occupation: Attorney

Previous elective office, if any: NJ General Assembly, Toms River Councilman

Do you or anyone in your family work for the state, county or local governments? No, but my wife Kate is a teacher.

Why are you seeking office? I have lived most of my life in Ocean County. I want to continue to give back to the county and state where I grew up, where my children grew up and now the place where my grandchildren will grow. I want my grandchildren to be proud to be from New Jersey and live in a state that prospers not a state that has been overrun by a dictator, Governor Murphy.

What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing the community, and what do you want to do about it? The number one issue facing New Jersey right now is taking back our state from Governor Murphy. Senator Holzapfel, Assemblyman Catalano and I have a constitutional amendment that would limit the governor’s executive orders to 14 days. No governor should be able to rule our state like a dictator with neverending lockdowns. We need to bring back our economy, especially our restaurants that have been on the brink of closure due to Governor Murphy’s actions. We need to stop Governor Murphy and the Democrat Legislature’s agenda that gives illegals unlimited funding and takes state funding for schools from many suburban districts and gives to schools in the urban areas of New Jersey. I have vehemently opposed S2 and any funding cuts to Toms River and Brick schools.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking to serve? A critical difference is experience. I have experience in the Republican Party at the local and state level, where our opponents have none. I am also not afraid of taking on Governor Murphy which our opponents have yet to prove.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. I have fought hard with Senator Holzapfel and Assembly Catalano to make election integrity a top priority. We sponsor legislation to have voters show their photo ID at the polls. That is one of the most common-sense pieces of legislation we have ever sponsored. I will never stop fighting to overturn S2, which completely decimated school funding to Brick and Toms River. I will continue to work with our school administrators and push our legislation to change the way schools are funded. We have sponsored legislation to remove the governor of his executive powers. I firmly oppose any legislation that teaches our kindergartners sex education and different sexualities at 5 years old. These liberal agendas must not get into our schools. Enough is enough!

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you will be effective in office? In the NJ Legislature I am considered a true conservative. Our office does not vote for any new taxes. I have always been pro-law enforcement and pro-NJ citizen rights, which is why our office continues to take on Governor Murphy. Also, over the last year, our legislative office was contacted by over 7,000 constituents who were having a problem receiving their unemployment, due to Governor Murphy’s excessive lockdown and broken unemployment system. I am truly proud that our legislative office has been able to resolve over 6,000 cases and continues to never stop working for our district.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I believe in people having individual choices. Governor Murphy has taken away many of our choices. He is forcing vaccine passports, (which we have legislation that would not allow this) closing down our businesses and teaching our young children about different sexualities. In addition to all of this, Governor Murphy needs to stop borrowing and we need to get NJ out of debt. I will fight for ending these liberal, Democrat policies. New Jersey is in a serious financial hole due to Governor Murphy. We need to stop digging now!

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